Quandary
by Metarie
Summary: Scotty has been keeping a secret from everyone: he's a Q. Scotty/Gaila.


**_Disclaimer: Not mine._**

**_A/N: This came from a prompt off the Star Trek kink meme on LJ, although for the life of me I can't find it anywhere. It just kept getting longer and longer, but hopefully you are entertained. It's AU to my other stories with them, but the relationship dynamic is still the same. :)_**

* * *

Gaila is distracted. She sits at the table she regularly shares with Scotty, bouncing her knee up and down impatiently. Scotty hasn't arrived yet, and it seemed that he was taking his sweet time getting there.

A few painful minutes later, during which Gaila more than once resolves to get up and go track him down herself, Scotty shows up, strolling in like nothing's amiss. He stops around at different tables, greeting various crew member acquaintances, even sitting down with the captain to regale him with an animated tale of the engine room dramatics from that morning. Gaila observes all of this through narrowed eyes, trying to contain her annoyance.

Once he finally makes his way through the buffet lines with his multiple plates of food, he comes to sit down across from her. Finally.

"All right there, Gaila?" he says, cheerfully, setting down his tray.

She leans forward. "I need to talk to you," she says urgently.

"All right..." He shovels a bite of meatloaf into his mouth and makes a face. "Mmm, just like mother used to make," he says sarcastically.

"Are you going to explain what happened in the engine room today?"

Scotty shrugs. "What's to explain?"

"Perhaps how the warp core was completely roasted one minute and then mysteriously functioning perfectly the next?"

"What do you mean, roasted?" Scotty laughs, but he shifts uncomfortably and avoids her gaze. "The core's fine."

"Yeah, now it is," snaps Gaila. "But I distinctly recall hearing the computer alert the entire engine room of an imminent warp core implosion."

Scotty pauses, chewing thoughtfully. "You heard that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I did." Gaila pulls out her PADD. "And I saved the status report to my account because I couldn't believe it. Look." She hands it back to him. "The core was barely functional. The ship was seconds from blowing up. This proves it, see? Look at that."

Scotty studies the readout carefully. "Yes it does," he says slowly.

"Well? What do you think we should do?" Gaila asks. "Kirk should know about this. I mean, obviously there's some kind of alien interference going on here."

"D'you really think that's necessary?" says Scotty, hastily. "If nothing's wrong, why worry him? You know how he is, he'll just hone in on it and fuss about it for ages..."

Gaila looks at him in disbelief. "Well, maybe he _should _be honing in on it! Something is messing around with our ship! I'd've thought you'd be rushing over there to tell him about this already... what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing! I just, if it helped the ship, kept it from exploding, don't you think... it's probably a _nice _alien?" He looks at her pleadingly. "One that wants to... remain anonymous?"

Scotty is not responding to this news the way she had expected... which, in Gaila's estimation, can only mean one thing. "You know something."

"Well. I know lots of things."

"About _this._You know what did it, don't you?"

Scotty is clearly at a loss. He keeps opening and closing his mouth, the way he always does when he can't figure out what she wants to hear.

"Scotty! Just tell me," says Gaila.

"Um, well... I can't, actually," says Scotty.

"Why not?"

"Because... I would get in trouble."

"With _who?_ The alien? What's it got to hide?"

"Oh... plenty," says Scotty, laughing nervously. "Trust me."

Gaila leans forward again. "If you don't tell me what you know, I'm going to the captain." Which would require a trip to the bridge, since she'd just seen Kirk get up and leave, but that was fine.

"No, Gaila, please - can't you leave it alone? _Please?_ You know, as a favor to me?"

She shakes her head and stands up. "No," she says. "Sorry, but this is a big deal." She heads for the door, taking the PADD with her.

Scotty chases after her, which, Gaila thinks in the back of her mind, must have been hard for him, given how much food he'd left behind on the table. "Gaila, wait. Um... I can explain," he says, catching up to her in the corridor.

Gaila stops and turns to look at him. She crosses her arms, waiting.

"All right," says Scotty, studying her face. "Ah... this is kind of a big secret, and you can't tell anyone."

"Okay."

"At all."

_"Okay,"_ she says, exasperated. "I'm sworn to secrecy. Now just tell me."

Scotty looks around conspicuously, and apparently the mostly empty main corridor is still too public for his liking, so he pulls her into a rarely used side hallway. "Okay," he says, looking somewhat nervous. "Here's the thing. I'm... not strictly human."

Gaila's brow furrows. She's surprised, sure, but... "Okay," she says, shrugging. "So?"

Scotty stares at her. "So?" he repeats.

"Yeah, well, I'm not really sure why you're pretending to be human if you're not, but it's not like I care..."

"Well, that's very sweet and all, but it's not what you think. When I say I'm not human... what I mean is, I'm not humanoid."

Gaila looks him up and down. "You've always looked pretty humanoid to me."

"Yes, well, that's because I want to look this way."

"I don't understand. What species _are _you?"

"Shh, keep your voice down," Scotty whispers, glancing towards the main corridor. "I'm... I'm a Q."

Gaila looks at him blankly. "I don't know what that is."

"I know, and you aren't supposed to, but since you're _making me tell you..."_

"Is that why you're hiding?" Gaila asks, intrigued. "Because Qs aren't recognized by the Federation?"

"That's... one way to look at it. And it's the Q, not 'Qs.' The Q, or the Q Continuum."

_"Continuum_... wow, that sounds important."

"They would certainly agree with you," says Scotty, rolling his eyes.

"So, you're a Q, or whatever," says Gaila, waving a hand in the air. "But you aren't humanoid. Does that mean you have some kind of magic powers that lets you take human form?"

Scotty takes a deep breath. "Pretty much. It, uh, also allows me to keep the warp core from imploding during a Klingon attack."

"Oh," says Gaila, as it dawns on her where this conversation has been going.

"Yeah," says Scotty.

"Hold on," says Gaila. "What about the fused matter-antimatter integrator? Did it help with that?"

Scotty clears his throat. "Maybe a little."

"Breaking out of that forced orbit around Gamma Trianguli VI?"

"It was only a last resort - "

"Transwarp beaming?"

Scotty brightens. "Actually, that was all me. Well, and Mr. Spock, of course... but since he was using an equation he said I invented, it was still mostly me." He sounds very proud.

Gaila scrutinizes him. "You aren't bullshitting me, are you? This isn't some joke?"

"I can show you," says Scotty.

"Show me what?"

Scotty raises a hand and snaps his fingers.

In an instant, everything changes. One second she's standing on the _Enterprise _and the next, she's... on a beach, surrounded by palm trees swaying in the breeze under a clear blue sky, and the only sound she hears is made by the waves lapping at the shore.

Gaila spins around, searching for Scotty, and finds him walking towards her, wearing a gaudy Hawaiian shirt, bright blue swim trunks, a large wide brimmed straw hat and a pair of classic Ray-Bans. He's carrying two mixed drinks.

"Welcome to Barbados," he says cheerfully, handing her one of the drinks. "It's a private beach, the people who own it live in that house up there." He points up the beach to a big white house perched on a hill. "They're out of town, though, so there's no chance they'll see us." He sips his drink, like this is one of the most natural things in the world.

Gaila stares at him, mouth hanging open. Words escape her.

"Nice swim suit, by the way," Scotty says conversationally. "It looks lovely."

Gaila looks down at herself, realizing for the first time she is now dressed in a blue bikini that matches the color of his swim trunks exactly. It does look lovely, actually, and she looks sort of fabulous in it, but she's not really in the mood to compliment him on picking it out.

She throws her drink on the ground and takes a step towards him. "Okay, this is starting to be weird."

Scotty stares at the ground where her drink landed, the liquid now soaking into the sand and staining it dark red. "Gaila, that was perfectly good Enolian spice wine you just wasted," he says, highly affronted.

"Can't you just conjure me up another one?" Gaila says sarcastically. "You freaky ass magician?"

"I'm not a magician, I'm a Q," Scotty corrects her. "And yes, I can. Do you want another one?" He snaps his fingers again, and another glass of spice wine appears in Gaila's hand. Unfortunately, it startles her so much that she drops it on the ground next to the other one.

"Gaila!"

"Okay, look," says Gaila. "Forget the drinks. I don't want one anyway. What I want is for you to get me _out _of here."

"You don't like the beach?" Scotty asks, surprised. "All right, well what about the mountains? You prefer the snowy cold weather?"

"Scotty - "

He snaps his fingers and suddenly they're standing in the middle of a snow bank, wearing parkas and snow pants. The landscape is white as far as the eye can see.

"What the hell?" Gaila says, looking around and then down at herself from inside the fuzzy hood of her jacket. The coat is bulky and it makes her look fat.

"Ahh, Delta Vega," says Scotty. "Hate it here, but Keenser and I did find the most fantastic sledding hills just over there - "

Gaila punches Scotty hard on the arm.

"Ow!" he cries, staring at her in shock. "What was that for?"

"You idiot," she says. "When I said I wanted to get off that beach I meant I wanted to go back to the ship, not that I wanted to go sledding on this _shitty planet."_

"Well, I'm so sorry," Scotty snaps, rubbing his arm. "You could have said..."

"I tried! But then you - " She snaps her fingers in his face a few times. "You know! What is that anyway?"

"It's just how I do things," Scotty says vaguely.

"Really? So you _snapped your fingers_ and the warp core was fixed? I guess you really are a miracle worker."

"You're mocking me," says Scotty.

"Good call." Gaila takes a deep breath. "You know why I'm angry, right?"

"Because the bloke you're with has been an omnipotent being this whole time and didn't tell you," says Scotty, without missing a beat.

"That about covers it. Hold on - " Gaila stops. "Omnipotent?"

Scotty starts to say something, but a third voice interrupts him.

"Yes, and believe me, it's not nearly as enjoyable as it sounds."

Scotty and Gaila both turn to see a tall man standing next to them, wearing a winter coat, mittens and a wool knit hat with ear flaps.

"Even when you're omnipotent and you've got the whole of time and space at your fingertips... well, you tend to run out of things to do after a while," says the man in a nasal, pretentious voice. "If you're immortal, that is. Which we are."

_"What?"_ says Gaila, stunned.

"Gaila... meet Q," says Scotty, wearily.

Q takes Gaila's hand in his mittened one and kisses it, bowing deeply to her. "Milady," he says.

Gaila isn't sure what to make of this person, but she isn't too impressed. "Your name is Q?" she asks, plucking her hand from his.

"Why, yes, it is," says Q, looking pleased. "Your pet catches on quick, Q," he says to Scotty.

"Excuse me, I am standing right here," says Gaila, crossing her arms.

"She's not my pet," says Scotty, angrily. "And I have a name now."

"Yes, so I've heard," says Q, rolling his eyes. "But really, why _Montgomery?_ Not what I would have picked, that's for sure."

"Can't you just leave us alone?" says Scotty.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," says Q. "Did I interrupt a special moment between you two? I wouldn't be surprised, what with this planet being so _idyllic."_

"As much as I'd love to continue listening to you two bitch at each other, what I'd love a lot more is to get the hell out of here," Gaila interjects.

"Yes, _really, _Scotty, if that's what you like to be called now," says Q. "This is no place to take a lady."

Q snaps his fingers and Gaila finds herself in an evening gown, seated at a table across from him in a fancy restaurant on some unknown planet.

"That's more like it," says Q, grinning. "Waiter? Can we see a wine list please?"

"No, you bloody can't," snaps Scotty, who has appeared at their table dressed as a waiter. He snaps his fingers and transports himself and Gaila back to their shared quarters on the _Enterprise_, both back in their Starfleet uniforms.

"Can we stop doing that?" Gaila asks, pained. "It's... extremely disorienting."

"Yes," says Scotty. "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about Q, I wasn't expecting him to show up."

"Who is he?"

"He's annoying," Scotty fumes. "Annoying, and meddling, and interfering - "

"Tsk tsk," says Q, appearing out of nowhere, now dressed in a red and black uniform Gaila doesn't recognize, although it does appear to bear the Starfleet insignia on the chest. "That's a fine way to speak about your older brother."

"You two are related?" Gaila asks, incredulously.

"Sort of," says Scotty, grudgingly.

"Everyone is related in the Q Continuum," says Q.

"That probably explains a lot," says Gaila. "No offense, Scotty..."

"None taken. I've disowned all of them." Scotty glares at Q. "Something you'd do well to remember."

"Yes, well, that brings us to the point of my visit," says Q. "When you disowned us all those years ago, we were under the impression you were going human for good. Your attempts to impress Miss Gaila here have brought to our attention that this is not the case."

"I was only giving her a demonstration," Scotty protests. "And anyway, what difference does it make to you? You can't control me anymore."

"Well, we can't have you going around flaunting your omnipotence in front of all the puny mortals," says Q. "We don't make official first contact with any Federation species for another century or so." Q puffs up proudly. "The honor of which belongs to me. I won't let your little _alternate reality_ here affect my relationship with dear Jean-Luc."

"I'm not flaunting anything," Scotty says through gritted teeth.

"Well, the Q want to keep it that way," says Q, crossing his arms. "We've all voted to give you an ultimatum. Either you come back and join the rest of the family, or you remain here, stripped of all your powers."

Scotty is silent.

"What's happening here," asks Gaila, looking nervously between them. Up to this point she was fascinated, slightly annoyed and not a little confused, but now the look on Scotty's face is not one she enjoys seeing there.

"It appears he isn't so attached to his life here as we thought," says Q, smugly. "Not so easy to give it up, is it?"

"That's not it," says Scotty. "I can give it up. I want to give it up. I don't want that life anymore." He looks at Gaila. "I'm just trying to decide if I might be a bigger help to the ship if I... keep my powers."

Fear starts to creep up Gaila's throat, but she swallows it. "What do you mean?" she asks, her voice trembling.

Scotty goes to her and takes her hand. "Gaila," he begins.

"No," she says quickly. "No. No. Don't put this on me."

"But... I need to know what you think," Scotty pleads. "What do you want me to do?"

"Right now I'm not even sure I know who you are anymore," she says, not without bitterness. "I mean... all this? It's a lot to throw at a girl at once."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," says Scotty. "It's just... I wasn't really supposed to. I'm not even sure how you caught me, I'm usually so careful about hiding my tracks... must've been a subconscious thing. I do hate lying to you, which is why I'm so rubbish at it." He laughs weakly.

"Yes, well..." Gaila looks down at her feet. "It was all... real, right? Us? Everything?"

"God, yes," says Scotty, vehemently. "I love you. I truly and passionately love you as much as I ever have. This nonsense has nothing to do with us."

"Okay," says Gaila, and she feels a little relieved.

"Which... is the only reason I'm thinking about going," says Scotty. "So I could... take care of you better. You and everyone."

"I can take care of myself," Gaila says, feebly. She knows she can, she knows she'll be fine, but after having learned of her boyfriend's super powers, she feels very small.

Scotty gives her a small smile. "I know, believe me," he says. "But the ship... I can't even tell you how many times I've... well, you know."

"Saved our asses, yeah," says Gaila. She nods. She feels very far away. "Right," she says, and her voice quavers. "No, I get it. That... makes sense." It did, really... she understands perfectly. He'd keep them all safe - he just wouldn't be there. Here, with her, in this room. Ever again.

"So... you don't mind if I go," says Scotty, slowly.

Gaila snaps her head up to look at him incredulously. "Of course I _mind!_" she exclaims.

"Well, you weren't saying so!"

"I thought you'd already made up your mind! And I didn't want to say, 'don't go, stay with me' because that seemed sort of selfish, you know?"

Scotty looks relieved. "Oh. Right... okay then." He turns to Q, who looks bored. "I'm staying," Scotty says. "Simple as that."

"Are you _sure?"_ asks Q. "There's no going back this time."

"I didn't go back last time," says Scotty. "I'm sure."

Q sighs. "All righty then," he says.

He snaps his fingers and disappears.

Nothing happens.

"Wait, is he not going to do it?" asks Gaila. "Was that like some kind of test?"

"No," says Scotty. "He did it. I'm human now."

"But... there isn't some kind of ritual? A ceremony or something?"

Scotty laughs. "No, nothing like that," he says. "We got the need for that kind of thing out of our systems eons ago."

"Oh," says Gaila. "I guess... I just thought it would be a bigger deal."

"Not really." He shrugs. "I'd much rather spend the rest of my life as a human if it means I get to stay on this gorgeous ship with the most gorgeous woman to ever exist."

"So let me get this straight," says Gaila. "You gave up omnipotent powers and immortality just now, so you could be with me."

"Erm... yeah," Scotty says. "I did."

Gaila mulls this over, then nods. "Well, you aren't going to be able to top that," she says. "This is it. Every birthday present after this will only be a let down. Sorry, but it's true."

Scotty grins, pulling her to him. "I'll have to get creative then. My abnormally high IQ is still intact, you know."

"Hmm, I can't wait for that," Gaila says, and she kisses him hungrily.

After a few minutes Scotty breaks away. "Take the afternoon off with me. My shift is over. Engineering can do without us for one day."

Gaila shakes her head. "I highly doubt that," she says. "After those Klingons this morning, she's in bad shape. I need to get back." She pulls away, heading for the door. "We _will_ be finishing this later."

"Count on it, lassie," he calls after her.

* * *

Hours later, she returns to their quarters feeling exhausted. She'd had next to no time to think about the whole Q incident, and it was now so far back in her mind that she had started to convince herself she had imagined it all. Maybe she had - it wasn't like anything was going to change. It would forever just be a tiny blip on the chart of their relationship. Everything would continue as usual.

Maybe she'd fallen asleep in the mess hall and then sleepwalked back to work. It would not be unprecedented - there were some embarrassing incidents back at the Academy that Nyota is still sworn to secrecy on.

Their quarters are empty - Scotty had left her a note saying he was having a quick meal and would be back soon after her shift was over.

Gaila goes into the bathroom, rubbing her neck. She strips off her uniform, ready to get in the shower, only to find that underneath her clothes she has been wearing, all this time, that blue bikini from the beach.

"Hmm," she says, turning this way and that in the mirror, admiring it.

"Still looks good on you," says Scotty, and she turns to find him leaning against the door frame.

"I guess it was real after all," she says.

He goes to her and kisses her. "We can pretend it wasn't. In fact, I'd love it if we could."

"Done," she says. Then she grins. "Join me in the shower?"

"Don't mind if I do," he says, smiling back, and she helps him out of his clothes.

* * *

**_Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! :)_**


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